The return of Ramayana

ldquoI remember watching it as a kid more than 20 years ago on TV and I loved itrdquo says Mrunal Mehta a graphic designer Ramayana The Legend of Prince Rama an anime adaptation of Valmikirsquos epic was perhaps Indiarsquos first exposure to anime The film released in 1993 but in limited theatres for a short span of time even in Japan Later in the early 2000s a Hindi version of the film was cut into episodes for televisionThe adults had Ramanand Sagarrsquos Ramayana and its fair share of reruns and children of that generation were glued to Cartoon Network every week in anticipationNow Geek Pictures India is rereleasing a remastered version on October 18 in theatres Directed by Yucircgocirc Sakocirc Koichi Saski and the father of Indian animation Ram Mohan the filmrsquos budget was a whopping 67 million and was coproduced by India and Japan It was created because Sakocirc was working on a documentary titled The Ramayana Relics in 1983 He fell in love with the epic and wanted to adapt it into an animation to capture its essenceWork on the film began around 1990 and Indian and Japanese artists worked together to bring it to life The animation for the film was handdrawn frame by frame by 450 artists Indian animators would send the handdrawn animations to the Japanese studio via courier ldquoBack thenrdquo says Kavin Panchal a businessman ldquoI did not watch it for the animation It piqued my interest in religion and made it more fun As a kid animation felt more real the serials felt unreal with the makeup Which kids would want to watch serialsrdquo Particularly the animation vanar sena were more believable than actors wearing monkey masks Mehta adds ldquoI had heard the story of Ramayana from my parents but the anime filled many gapsrdquoKshitiz Srivastava Moksha Modgill Mrunal Mehta and Kavin PanchalSpeaking on what spurred the rerelease Moksha Modgill CEO of Geek Pictures India says ldquoThere is a growing appreciation for this form of art India is opening up to anime in a big way So we wanted to bring it back for a new generationrdquo Anime is a unique form of art from Japan that combines graphic art characterisation cinematography and other techniques It has a massive appeal from kids to adults According to Crunchyroll an anime streaming platform there are 30 million anime viewers in India and that number is expected to grow by 60 per cent by the end of 2024The beauty of Ramayana The Legend of Prince Rama lies in its collaborative artwork As itrsquos an Indian tale the animation draws inspiration form Indian artistry as well Therersquos a significant connect to nature especially the animals and birds present throughout the film depicted as seen in Indian art and carvings ldquoIt was the first animation our generation saw and it was the sincerest version of the artformrdquo says Kshitiz Srivastava creative producer Geek Pictures IndiaThe original English and the Hindi version was narrated by Shatrughan Sinha with Arun Govil speaking as Rama Namrata Sawhney as Sita and Amrish Puri as Ravana the rerelease has also been dubbed in Telugu and Tamil Modgill says ldquoScreenplay writer V Vijayendra Prasad of RRR and Baahubali fame has worked on the Telugu and Tamil text and has helped us reimagine the film for a new generationrdquoThe recent trend of rereleasing films banking on nostalgia is also gaining momentum Films like Rockstar and Laila Majnu surpassed box office numbers of new films released the same week Tumbbad surpassed its original box office collections Will anime Ramayana do the same Only time will tell but the film does have nostalgia a growing anime fan base and a tale most Indians love to rewatch all working in its favourPanchal adds ldquoI am excited for the next generation of kids in my family to watch it It will be quite a fulfilling moment In fact I told my sisterinlaw about the rerelease and my nephew wants to go see the film with his parents grandfather my mom and me in towrdquo